


Hunkered Down

by StainlessSteelShipping (kistytac)



Category: Pocket Monsters: Sun & Moon | Pokemon Sun & Moon Versions, Pocket Monsters: Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon | Pokemon Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon Versions
Genre: Basically Soffy is salty Big Mo has a gf, Developing Friendships, Getting Lost, Other, POV First Person
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-04
Updated: 2018-01-04
Packaged: 2019-02-28 04:59:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,276
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13264206
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kistytac/pseuds/StainlessSteelShipping
Summary: Molayne and Sophocles always had a tradition of going to Mount Lanakila around the holidays. This year, however, Mo invited his new girlfriend along. Sophocles is not happy.





	Hunkered Down

**Author's Note:**

> Hi there! I wrote this around Christmas, so it might have a bit of that feel to it. Regardless, I hope you enjoy! ^^

Mount Lanakila was the only place in Alola where it ever snowed, so of course every December, a Holiday festival was set up just above the snowline where families could go and play and frolic on the weekends. It was a tradition for Molayne to take Sophocles every year, and this year I had been invited as well. It was something Sophocles was clearly unhappy about, but Molayne just seemed so excited to share this family tradition with me that he didn’t even notice.

As a result, I had been put in the rather awkward position of having to ensure my boyfriend that I was enjoying myself while trying to pretend that his little cousin wasn’t glaring daggers at me from behind his back the entire time.

The first thing we had done, after getting some hot drinks, was head to the ice skating rink. I had been a little unsteady on my feet, so Molayne had made sure to attend to me, helping me get the hang of it until I was sturdier. I had tried to tell him not to worry about me, and to focus on his cousin, but he had assured me that Sophocles had skated before and knew what he was doing.

Sophocles had ended up quitting after one go-around the rink, in which he had clung to the wall the entire time. He had ended up marching off to sit on the sidelines, and watched Molayne and I continue for a while with a very sour expression on his face. Not even his phone was able to offer him any entertainment, as reception was almost non-existent on the mountain.

“Would you like to go sledding next, Soffy?” Molayne asked his cousin once we returned to him, and began taking off our skates. At these words, the younger boy seemed to perk up, and he eagerly nodded.

“Okay!” he agreed, his voice light and hopeful.

“What about you, darling?” Molayne asked me next, turning to me with a sweet smile. In contrast, Sophocles’s face had dropped back down into a glare, seemingly offended that Molayne had decided to ask my opinion about the matter.

“Sounds like fun!” I said with a nod, “But then how about we get some lunch? I’m starting to get kind of hungry.”

“Oh! That’s a great idea, actually. How about we get lunch first?” Molayne suggested, and I watched Sophocles go from angry at me to utterly offended at his cousin’s words.

“But Big Mo-” he started, but Molayne turned around and placed his hand on Sophocles’s head, ruffling his already messy hair.

“We’ll still go sledding, it’s just a good idea that we eat something first. Who knows how long we’ll be out playing, after all!” He was grinning as he spoke, and Sophocles’s face fell, clearly feeling some degree of guilt for speaking up against his big cousin.

“Okay…” He finally conceded, pulling himself to his feet and walking away from the skating rink. As he passed by me, I noticed him giving me a glare colder than the sparkling white snow surrounding us. After he was gone, I sighed and turned to Molayne.

“You didn’t have to invite me along today, you know…” I said quietly, and for the first time that day I saw Molayne’s happy expression falter.

“W-what’s wrong?” he stuttered, reaching out for my hand, “Are… you not having a good time?”

“It’s not that,” I sighed, looking over to the benches just outside of the base-camp-turned-cafeteria where Sophocles had marched off to, “ _I’m_ having fun… I just… don’t think Sophocles is…”

Molayne looked over to where his younger cousin was now sitting and furrowed his brow.

“What makes you say that?” He asked, though I could hear in his voice that he knew the answer.

“Well, look at him,” I said, gesturing toward him just as he was settling his chin in his hands, “does he look like he’s having fun to you?”

Molayne was silent for a moment while he watched his cousin. Sophocles was kicking around some snow under his feet, his pout visible even from where we were.

“Well,” Molayne finally said, speaking slowly as he chose his words carefully, “I’m sure things will look up soon. Sledding is his favorite thing to do here, so after we eat and start having some more fun, then…”

His tone faltered, and I knew that he knew it was a long shot. Still, as he stood up and offered his hand to help me do the same, he was smiling as cheerfully as ever, and I squeezed his hand softly as he lead me over to where Sophocles was waiting.

“Have you thought of anything you want, Soffy?” Molayne asked as we approached him.

“Just a Malasada’s fine,” Sophocles answered, rubbing at his nose as he made an effort to look away from us.

“A-ah… okay then,” Molayne said, shivering at the boy’s cold tone before turning to me, “And you, darling?”

“Oh, I’ll just see what they have,” I began to explain, but Molayne steered me to sit down next to Sophocles.

“Nonsense!” he chirped, “I’ll go and get us all something, and you two just stay here and rest!”

“What? Big Mo-!” Sophocles started, but Molayne waved his concerns away.

“I’ll be right back, I promise!” He said happily, before turning and heading off inside.

He had just disappeared when Sophocles stood up and started walking off in the other direction.

“H-hey! Soffy, wait-” I tried calling out to him, standing up as well. He turned around and simply glared at me.

“ _Don’t_ call me that! You’re _not_ my cousin!” I could hear his voice getting choked up as he shouted at me, and his face was just beginning to screw up in stifled crying when he turned back around and took off as fast as he could.

“Sophocles!” I shouted, running after him.

 

Molayne was still in line for food when an announcement came over the speakers. A sudden storm was moving in, and all guests were advised to take shelter until it had passed. Molayne looked toward the entrance of the cafeteria, where crowds of people were streaming in. He tried to search for the faces of his two loved ones, but couldn’t spot either of them. With a bit of a worried sigh, he turned back around, figuring that they would find him inside soon.

 

“Sophocles!” I called out, cupping my hands around my mouth so that my voice would carry beyond my fluffy hood. The wind had begun to pick up, and it was the only thing I had to even try to shield my face. Sophocles had disappeared into an area of tall grass, and while I knew he had his pokémon to defend himself, I wasn’t sure how well they would fair in the worsening weather. I had to find Sophocles ASAP.

“Soffy, come on, please, let’s go back!” I shouted again, as a gust of wind blew my hood off of my head. Just then, I felt a cold, icy impact against the side of my head, and I stumbled from the shock of it rather than any force. I put a hand up to feel the leftover powder of a snowball, and looked around frantically to find who had thrown it.

“I _told_ you not to call me that!” Sophocles’s voice rang out, and I turned to see him hiding behind a large boulder a bit up the slope, glaring at me with a furious expression that was damaged by the fact that he had clearly been crying.

“Sophocles, come on,” I said, holding my arms out to him as snowflakes began to swirl in on the wind, “L-let’s just head back and-”

“No!” Sophocles shouted, taking a step back, “You ruin everything!”

“What?” I asked, his words striking me harder than the biting wind. I took another step toward him, and he took another one backwards.

Everything began to move in slow-motion. First, Sophocles’s foot slid off of the small, icy rock it had fallen on. He lost his balance, and both of his feet slipped out from under him, landing him on his back. He let out a shout as he began to slide down toward me, and I cried out his name, but both of our voices were lost in the howling wind.

His body came to a stop not far from me, and I ran over to him, my heart pounding in my throat.

He groaned as I approached him, and I instantly sighed in relief. Dropping to my knees beside him, I helped him sit up, brushing some snow out of his hair as best I could.

“Are you okay?” I asked him frantically, taking him by the shoulders.

“Just peachy,” He replied sarcastically. I furrowed my brow at him and opened my mouth to tell him off for all of his rudeness, when a cry pierced the air around us. We both looked up and, through the snow, saw the form of a fluffy, white Vulpix trotting up to us.

Sophocles and I were silent as we watched the Vulpix, which came to a stop next to us. It was as if the sudden winter storm didn’t bother it in the least, as it paused to clean itself for a moment. When it was finished, it stared at us for what seemed like a short eternity before bounding off.

Sophocles and I looked at each other, then back to the Vulpix’s retreating form, before scrambling to our feet and chasing after it, trying to keep our eyes on its figure, blurred by the snow.

At one point, I had thought that we’d lost it, when we heard its cry immediately to our left. There, we could see it sitting in the mouth of a cave, staring expectantly at us. I grabbed Sophocles’s hand, and helped him climb into the crevice.

It wasn’t exactly a large cave, but it was spacious enough for all of us, and even tall enough that Sophocles could stand easily. I had to settle for hunching over at best, but it worked to shield us from the storm. There were viney roots from the trees on the hillside growing down the walls of the cave, which even served to insulate it from the cold to a degree. The Vulpix had trotted toward the wall and curled up, relaxing as it watched us.

“This must be its nest…” I said softly, smiling at the little pokémon, “Thank you for inviting us into your home.”

Behind me, I heard Sophocles mumble under his breath, and I turned to look at him. He was glaring holes into the ground, his hands balled up into fists at his side.

“What was that?” I asked him, already fearing the worst.

“I said, this is ALL YOUR FAULT ANYWAY!” he shouted the last words, screwing his eyes shut as tears began to fall from them. Even the Vulpix perked its head up in concern.

“Sof… phocles…” I said softly, stopping myself from using his nickname. He continued on, as if he hadn’t heard me.

“You keep pushing your way into the stuff that Big Mo and do, and every single time, you RUIN IT!” He wouldn’t look at me, his face still pointed at the ground, and I watched as he raised a fist to scrub at the tears and snot running down his face.

“First it was the observatory,” He continued, “Every single day, I couldn’t even talk to him without him bringing you up.  And then you started _showing_ up, and it was like I was chopped liver. Even playing videogames with him sucks now, because all he can talk about is you!”

All I could do was stare at him in silence for a few moments, before he sat down and pulled his knees up in front of him, and burying his face into his arms. I began to crawl over toward him when I could hear him speak again, so softly I almost didn’t make it out.

“This was a special thing for us… we only do it once every year… and you had go and mess this up too…”

“Sophocles,” I said quietly, reaching out and putting a hand on his shoulder. He looked up at me, screwing his face up into a glare, and I took a deep breath as I met his gaze.

“I’m sorry.” I said simply, and almost immediately, I saw the boy’s face shift from anger to surprise. “You’re right, today has been a bit of a disaster… And I’m sure if Molayne hadn’t invited me to come along, neither of us would be shivering in this cave right now. But since we’re kinda stuck here, let’s try to focus on what we need to do.”

Sophocles was silent for a moment as he stared at the root-covered wall in front of him. Then, suddenly, he reached up and wiped at his nose, sniffing loudly, and nodded.

“Yeah… You’re right,” he said, then reached out and pulled at some of the roots, breaking them off easily. The Vulpix had perked up again at the noise, and watched us warily as he gathered a small pile. Then, he reached for one of the pokéballs at his belt, and sent out Togedemaru.

“A fire type would be best, but Togedemaru can still make a spark,” Sophocles said, then handed me one of the branches. I took it from him, and he commanded his pokémon to start up a charge.

A few moments later, sparks were coming off of its fur, and I held out the thinnest part of the piece of wood toward it. It took a few tries, but the stick eventually caught, and before long I had built a little campfire that the two of us and Togedemaru were huddled around. Even the Vulpix had come over closer to the warmth, despite being an ice type. For a while, we were silent, with only the howling wind and the crackling of our small fire making any sound in the cold.

I kept my gaze on the mouth of the cave, watching for any change in the storm. It only seemed to have gotten fiercer in the time we had spent huddled in the cave, and I couldn’t help but begin to worry.

“Storms like this sometimes kinda get stuck on the mountain,” Sophocles said, looking at me as he held his pokémon close to his chest, “But… I’m sure Big Mo’s noticed we’re gone by now. He’ll come looking for us soon.”

A big gust blew past the opening, even swirling some snow into our little cavern. I pictured Molayne’s thin form stumbling along in the mess and shivered at the very thought.

“I… kinda hope he just stays safe,” I sighed, reaching down to pet the Vulpix, curled up by my side, “I mean… we’re fine for now. We’ll just wait until the storm clears up, and then we can try to retrace our steps.”

The Vulpix leaned its head into my touch, and made a soft noise of happiness as I did so. I smiled down at it before looking up at Sophocles, who was now staring out at the storm.

“…Yeah, I want him to stay safe too…” He said quietly. He was silent again for a long moment before speaking again.

“You really love Big Mo, don’t you?” he asked me, though he still wouldn’t look at me. I felt my face begin to burn at his unexpected question, but all I could do was tell him the truth.

“…Y-yes. I do.” I told him, and couldn’t hold back a smile from creeping on to my face. Just thinking about him filled me with a warmth that the little fire couldn’t match, and I covered my face with my hands for a moment. I heard Sophocles sigh, and looked up at him after collecting myself.

“That’s why… I just want him to be happy. And when he asked me to join you two today, he looked so excited. I really don’t think he had any idea it would upset you like this,” I said to him, “have you ever told him how you felt?”

“…No,” Sophocles said after a long pause, and hugged Togedemaru a little closer.

“Well, maybe when we get back to him, you should try to explain your feelings to him. He’ll definitely understand,” I assured him, smiling a little. It hurt to think that I was encouraging him to explain to my own boyfriend why he didn’t like me, but I didn’t want to show it.  Sophocles went quiet again, but looked like he was just about to say something when a big gust of wind blew through the cave, extinguishing the little fire between us.

Suddenly, we heard a growl come from the back, and the Vulpix jumped up, its hackles suddenly raised. Sophocles and I looked at each other, then back toward the source of the noise.

“Togedemaru, use Flash!” Sophocles cried out, and his little pokémon began to glow, illuminating the cave. There, crawling out of a crevice that I hadn’t noticed before, was a Weavile and a Sneasel, staring us down. The Weavile chittered at the younger pokémon next to it, which began to creep closer to us, growling all the while.

I instinctively backed away from the wild pokémon. I didn’t have any of my own, but Sophocles stepped forward.

“D-don’t worry,” he reassured me, sticking his arm out in front of me, “I’ll take care of these guys. They’re probably here for the Vulpix. It’s their favorite prey.”

He didn’t sound sure in the least, but that didn’t stop him from commanding Togedemaru to shock the Sneasel. The pokémon took the hit, trying to shake of the damage, but it was clear that it had been paralyzed. Panicking, the little pokémon cried out, and, while we were focusing on it, the Weavile suddenly lunged for the Vulpix.

I screamed, and Sophocles turned to see what was going on. He was just about to command Togedemaru to attack again, when the Vulpix suddenly opened its mouth and let out a cry of its own. I stared in awe as a colorful Aurora Beam struck the Weavile, hitting it with enough force that it sent its body crashing into the cave’s wall, loosening some rocks that had been exposed from Sophocles and I gathering our kindling earlier.

The Weavile began to stand up, but Sophocles stepped forward again.

“Togedemaru, use spark!” He commanded, and the little pokémon sent an electrical shock toward the other. Weavile let out an angry cry, and collapsed on the floor in a heap. It didn’t stay down for very long, however, almost immediately pushing itself back up to its feet. It looks positively enraged, and, despite the previous attack from Togedemaru, its focus was entirely on the Vulpix. The little ice pokémon stared it right back down, and when the Weavile made a sudden movement toward it, the Vulpix lunged forward as well, stepping on some of the fallen stones from the cave wall.

Suddenly, a brilliant light shone in the cave, and Sophocles and I both had to throw our arms up to shield our eyes from the sudden blinding flash. When it was safe to look again, we both saw a magnificent-looking Ninetails standing where the Vulpix had just been.

“Whoa… I-it just evolved!” Sophocles exclaimed, and I just stared, slack-jawed at the elegant new pokémon before us. Even the Sneasel and Weavile were clearly taken aback, both of them having frozen in their tracks at their opponent’s sudden transformation.

The now-Ninetails let out a long, low howl, and both the other pokémon immediately scrambled to their feet and took off back through the crevice they have come from.

“W-whoa…” I breathed out, and the Ninetails turned around to face us. Sophocles and I just stared at it in awe, and it dipped its head toward us in a sort-of bow. Then, with an elegant gait, it stepped past the two of us toward the mouth of the cave.

Turning around, we could see that the storm had subsided. The wind had died down substantially, and it didn’t look like it was snowing anymore. The Ninetails looked back at us, then turned around and keapt gracefully out into the snow.

Sophocles called back his Togedemaru and we both ran out after the Ninetails.

The pokémon kept its distance from us, but always wait for us to catch up with it whenever the distance between us got too great. I wasn’t sure what compelled us to follow the pokémon, but it was clear that it was leading us somewhere. It was a good thing, considering how the snow had made the path we’d taken to get here virtually unrecognizable. Even Sophocles didn’t have a single complaint the entire time, even though it was clear that he was getting winded hiking through all of the fresh powder.

Eventually, the Ninetails came to a stop along what appeared to be a trail. As we caught up to it, I opened my mouth, about to ask what we should do next, when we heard shouts not far in the distance. Human shouts.

Sophocles and I looked at each other, then back at the Ninetails.

“Did… you just lead us back to safety?” I asked it, and it bowed its head before bounding off among the snow-covered trees.

“They are known to do that…” Sophocles said quietly, staring in the direction it had gone for a moment.

The voices were getting more and more distinct with each passing second, and soon it was obvious that they were calling our names. One stood out in particular, and it snapped both of us out of our reverie.

“MO!” we both called out in unison, and started off in the direction of the voices.

Molayne and the search party were just up the trail a little, apparently having just started since the storm had let up. When we saw them, Sophocles tore off toward his cousin, knocking him backwards in a fierce hug. Molayne squeezed Sophocles back tightly, and I could hear him sobbing audibly as one of the rangers came up to me and offered me a space blanket and a thermos of cocoa.

“Darling!” Molayne’s voice suddenly cried out, and I looked up from my thermos just in time to see him running up to scoop me into a tight, one-armed hug. He refused to let go of his little cousin’s hand with his other, and when he buried his face into my shoulder, it was clear that he was still crying.

“I-I was s-so worried!” He sobbed out, squeezing me now as tightly as he could, “I thought I-I’d lost both of you… I-I didn’t know what I was going to d-do…!”

“Hey, hey, shhh,” I said, reaching up to stroke his hair soothingly, “We were fine. We found shelter from the storm and everything. Sophocles was pretty impressive, actually. He figured out how to make a fire and everything.”

“Y-yeah, well, you’re the one who built it,” Sophocles admitted, and I looked down at him to see him smiling back up at me. It was the first time I could ever remember him doing so, and I positively melted at the sight. Molayne seemed to notice as well, and was beaming to himself as he watched us, clearly over the moon to see us getting along.

“Well, come on, we need to check you all back in at HQ,” One of the rescuers said, gesturing for us to follow him back up the trail. Molayne walked between Sophocles and I, each of his hands grasping tightly on to one of ours as if afraid to let go. He chattered on for a while about how worried he’d been, wondering where and why we had wandered off during a storm like that. How he’d panicked when he’d realized we weren’t taking shelter, and how furious he’d been to learn that the search party wanted to wait for the storm to subside before heading out.

Eventually, Sophocles admitted that he was the one who had left first, and how I had followed him. Molayne seemed surprised to hear this, and when he asked Sophocles why, I held my breath, bracing myself for the boy’s answer.

“…Because she’s a good person who was worried about me,” He said after a slight hesitation, and I was completely floored. It was the last thing I expected him to say, and when I looked over at him, I could see him smiling at me again.

“Soffy…” Molayne said softly, looking like he was ready to start crying again, “I-I mean, I couldn’t agree more, but-”

“So, you’d better be good to her, okay?” Sophocles’s tone had suddenly changed to a mock-scolding one, and he stuck his nose up in the air as he continued, “Really, you know she doesn’t know her way around Alola! Why would you leave her alone with a kid? Honestly Big Mo, you really need to be more considerate of other people’s needs!”

“O-oh!” Molayne looked shocked to be suddenly receiving a lecture like this, and I had to stifle a snort of laughter behind my hand.

He would talk to Molayne when he was ready. But at least he’d just taken a small step in the right direction, and as we walked the rest of the way back to the festival, I leaned my head on Molayne’s shoulder and sighed happily. I was going to like being in this family.


End file.
